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Pink or blue light to mark royal birth

Wellington - Civic buildings, bridges, clock towers and fountains in New Zealand are to be lit up in pink or blue to celebrate the arrival of the newest addition to the British royal family.

The royalist organisation Monarchy New Zealand has come up with the idea to mark the birth of the baby of William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, expected in mid July.

Chairperson Sean Palmer says the sites involved will light up in the appropriate colour at dusk on the evening of the day following the royal birth.

He has signed up 20 sites to the plan, including the airport in the South Island city of Christchurch, and a quirky metal sheep dog shaped building which acts as the headquarters for the Tirau visitor centre in the central North Island.

'This is a big deal'

"That should be a very interesting feature, particularly if it is a girl."

The gesture was made possible by modern lighting technology, Palmer said.

"Hundreds of years ago they would have lit bonfires from one side of the country to the other, but here we have the modern equivalent of that and it is a lot easier."

He said New Zealanders were keen to acknowledge the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's baby, who would grow up to be the King or Queen of New Zealand one day."

"This is a big deal, not just to Britain. This family really does belong as much to New Zealand as it does to Britain or Canada or Australia and while most of the focus is going to be on Britain it will not go unnoticed in any of these other countries and it's fantastic to see this international sharing of this particular moment."

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